‘Let us seize the opportunities presented by the crises to enhance the transatlantic partnership, particularly in the areas of security, energy, and trade. Security, however, comes first now. While the hot front line stretches across Ukraine, the cold front line, running along NATO’s eastern borders, deserves equal importance. It is therefore essential to strengthen the defence of the Baltic States to prevent the cold line from turning into the hot one,’ Ms Čmilytė-Nielsen said at the meeting.
The Speaker of the Seimas pointed out that it was important not to reduce the Russian invasion of Ukraine to a regional crisis. After all, migration pressures, the war against Ukraine, the challenges faced by Israel, and the threat to Taiwan are all interconnected, like separate pieces of a large puzzle.
‘At the same time, all this constitutes a challenge to the United States, threatening its leadership and everything it has built since World War II. Russia is preparing for a long-term confrontation with the West. It seeks to eliminate US dominance in Europe and the world and to destroy the US-built international, political, economic, and security architecture and is hoping that following the presidential elections, US support for Ukraine will wane,’ Ms Čmilytė-Nielsen said.
According to the Speaker of the Seimas, the Kremlin does not act alone, but in cooperation with other authoritarian states, aiming at a new world order that would benefit them rather than democracies or the US.
‘For this reason, we are looking forward to important security, defence, and membership decisions to be taken at the NATO Summit in Washington. I also said today that it was important for the Speakers of Parliaments of NATO member countries to be actively involved in defence and national security matters too. I therefore suggested that Washington continued the practice introduced in Vilnius of convening the Speakers of NATO Parliaments before the Summit,’ Ms Čmilytė-Nielsen said.
The Speaker of the Seimas also met with Jack Reed, Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services. Today, she is also scheduled to meet with Betty McCollum, Pete Ricketts, and Ben Cardin, Members of the US Congress.
On 31 January, the Speakers of the Latvian and Estonian Parliaments will join Ms Čmilytė-Nielsen to meet with Members of the US Congress. In the evening, the Speaker of the Seimas is visiting the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to meet with representatives of the Lithuanian communities in Washington and Baltimore.
